HARP SEALS

Over 31,764 Harp Seal Pups Killed in Canada.

About Seals How they're killed How To Help Our Campaigns

About Harp Seals

Harp seal pups are famous for their big black eyes and fluffy white fur, which is why, at this stage of their lives, they are commonly referred to as whitecoats. Their images have been captured in a thousand ways and distributed around the world, making them one of the most recognizable and well known of nature's innocent and precious baby creatures. It is ironic and sad that all this recognition does nothing to help their plight as these seal pups are the victims of a brutal, politically-driven, propaganda-bolstered slaughter. In fact, these beautiful and gentle creatures suffer the largest or second largest slaughter of any marine mammal species on the planet (the other large marine mammal slaughter being the months-long daily massacre of Cape fur seal pups in Namibia).

Born in the spring on ice packs,
harp seal pups go through 6 life stages

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Yellowjacket

Yellowjacket

Newborn pups with white fur tinted yellow from placental fluid are born weighing about 24 lbs. and measuring almost 3 feet long.

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Whitecoat

Whitecoat

After a few days, the pups' yellowish tint fades, revealing fluffy white fur. Nursing on high-fat milk (45%), they triple their weight to 75 lbs. in 12 days. Mothers recognize their pups by smell.

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Ragged Jacket

Ragged Jacket

At 2 weeks, pups are weaned and start moulting, revealing dense silver-grey fur with black spots. They don't eat until they can swim and find food, taking up to six weeks.

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Beater

Beater

After about 18 days, the harp seal's white coat is completely moulted. They start to learn how to swim by beating the water with their front flippers.

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Bedlamer

Bedlamer

Immature seals were given this name in the 15th or 16th century by the Basque and Breton settlers in the Strait of Belle Isle. The term comes from the French 'Betes de la mer' (Animals of the Sea).

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Adult

Adult

Males reach maturity at about 7-8 years of age. Females reach maturity at about 4-6 years of age.

How they're killed

Canadian fishermen refer to this as the harp seal "hunt" though the "hunting" part is really just finding the herds of seal pups on ice floes around Newfoundland and Labrador and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Once the herds are found, the fishermen, or sealers, walk up to the seal pups and beat them on the head with a long pole called a hakapik, in order to crush their skulls. Other seal pups see this; but, early on, they can't get away because they are not yet able to swim.

Who Kills Them

Every spring, tens of thousands of harp seal pups are killed in Canada by Canadian fishermen. These fishermen are almost all of European descent. Most live in Newfoundland and Labrador and the Magdalen Islands of Quebec. The Canadian government allows these fishermen to go on a rampage across the ice floes, killing every harp seal pup in sight, as soon as the pups have started to molt. In fact, almost all of the harp seals who are killed by these fishermen are pups who are three weeks to three months of age.

Why they're killed.

Many people wonder why anyone would kill harp seal pups. In the simplest terms, sealers kill seal pups for money - money from pelts that are made into fur coats and other products (normally not more than CAN$35 per pelt) and even less money from seal blubber that is made into omega-3 supplements. But there's more to it than this. Sealers are fishermen who kill seals for some extra money in the off-season. They believe that harp seals are eating too many fish and depleting fish populations and that if they can reduce the harp seal population, they will be able to catch more fish.

How to Help Seals

A key strategy that has had a great impact on the number of seal pups who were killed each year is national and regional bans on imports of seal products. Since the European Union and the Russian Federation bans in 2008 and 2009, the market for seal products and the killing declined greatly.

The fight isn’t over yet though. Canada is continually working to reverse the bans, to promote seal products in countries without import bans, and to promote seal products within Canada using false propaganda. Canadian lawmakers are even discussing culling seals ostensibly for the sake of fisheries.

You can help end sealing.

Email Activism

Use our forms to write emails to government officials, tourism associations, Canadian seafood vendors, and seal product vendors.

Political Activism

Canadians: We need you to pressure your representatives to end sealing and protect seals and all other marine mammals.

Donate

Harpseals.org operates with very low overhead and relies on donations to educate millions about sealing through mass media, online advertising, and public events. We provide free resources to activists and need financial support to continue our campaign to end the seal hunt.

Boycotts

Boycotting Canadian seafood, promoted by Harpseals.org since 2004, aims to pressure the fishing industry to stop supporting seal massacres. In 2013, the boycott expanded to Namibian seafood to end the Cape fur seal slaughter. Additionally, boycotting tourism to sealing regions like Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Magdalen Islands can further pressure sealers to end the hunt.

Spread the Word

Help us inform people – especially Canadians – about the Canadian seal “hunt.” The more people know, the more they’ll help pressure officials to end it. Share our posts, write articles, screen our short film, be a walking billboard.

Volunteer

Harpseals.org is looking for volunteers to help protect harp seals. We need activists at various levels of commitment, and most positions can be performed from anywhere in the U.S. Volunteers are encouraged to be vigilant against smuggled seal products and report any sightings of seal oil and fur products being sold anywhere.

Our Campaigns

Since 2004, we have worked to end the harp seal slaughter in Canada with educational and persuasive campaigns and multiple strategies. Our efforts have included outreach at festivals and in schools, informational TV and radio commercials, online and social media informative ads, billboards and other outdoor advertising, recruiting grocers and restaurants to join the boycott of Canadian seafood, and providing activists with tools to educate and persuade people in their communities to help end this senseless killing.

Outreach
Advertising
Boycotts
Film/Video
Activist Tools

Seals and Sea Lions: Scoundrels or Scapegoats?

In order to address the increasing calls for culls of harp seals, grey seals, and seals and sea lions on the Pacific coast of Canada, we produced a short film, filled with informational interviews of scientists, to address the claims of those who advocate for culls. It is freely available on YouTube, so please watch it and share it.